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It’s third and goal to go, and Javon Ivory and Calvin Austin break the huddle together before lining up to Seth Henigan’s left, with Ivory in the slot.
Following a rollercoaster game with UCF in 2020, the Tigers found themselves fighting back from a 27-14 halftime deficit with their conference rivals.
“It’s the little things, always the little things,” Ivory says, recalling the play like it happened yesterday. “We are in the huddle, and I am looking at Calvin and he’s looking at me, and we were like, ‘we are going to do this’.”
As time ticked down to just over one minute, Henigan signaled for Austin to come in motion, just behind Ivory, with Memphis facing a third and goal, down 49-44.
“I run my route and Calvin breaks out. But then I turnaround, and I basically slip in the back of the end-zone, because I'm really supposed to be running like a little seven route,” Ivory says. “All I can think about is I hope he's not throwing it to me.”
“I run my route and Calvin breaks out. But then I turnaround, and I basically slip in the back of the end-zone, because I'm really supposed to be running like a little seven route,” Ivory says.
“All I can think about is I hope he's not throwing it to me.”
“When he opted out, I was like, ‘man, who’s going to (step up) now?,” Ivory says. “But (Coxie) always told me, 'just wait, it’s going to be your time one day.' So I just said to myself, ‘it’s my time.”
Ivory started his Memphis football career at the pinnacle, with three appearances in 2019, including the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.
“That year was so big in a lot of ways,” he says. “We had so many leaders on that team, so many guys that just stood up and everyone bought into what we needed to do to get a championship.”
One of those leaders was Damonte Coxie, who had been setting receiving records at Memphis since joining the team in 2017.
His freshman year, Ivory said he watched everything Coxie did, even where we sat at position meetings.
“Coming in behind (Coxie), just seeing how he had this edge to him, to just go hard every play, never try to have somebody outdo him,” he said. “I used to come into the receiver room and sit in the chair right beside him. So, I was basically wherever he was, just listening, trying to get everything right for when it's my time.”
In 2020, Ivory’s time would come sooner than he expected.
After starting two games in 2020, Coxie decided to opt out of the season and enter the NFL draft, leaving a huge hole in the Tiger receiving core.
Memphis was coming off a disappointing loss to SMU with a home game against UCF, a team the Tigers had failed to beat going back to 1990. However, Ivory dealt with the loss of his mentor by relying on the words Coxie had told him every day.
“When he opted out, I was like, ‘man, who’s going to (step up) now?,” Ivory says.“But (Coxie) always told me, 'just wait, it’s going to be your time one day.'So I just said to myself, ‘it’s my time."
“Once (Austin) and I lined up, we looked at each other and the coverage, we already knew it was a touch down,” he says. “All we gotta do is just make sure we get this rub right… I run my route and (the defensive back) breaks out, and I turn around and see Calvin catching it low, and I’m like, ‘yes it’s a touchdown!'"
As the clock wound down on the Tigers against UCF in 2020,Ivory found himself tumbling to the ground in the end-zone, taking himself out of what would be the decisive play of the game.
Had the play occurred a year earlier, Ivory said he would have been worried. But Ivory said he learned from Coxie that success as a wide receiver doesn’t always mean catching the ball.
After already securing one touchdown in the third quarter, Ivory lined up on the third and goal play, and knew his job was not to catch the ball, but rather spring Austin for the game-winning play.
“Once (Austin) and I lined up, we looked at each other and the coverage, we already knew it was a touch down,” he says. “All we gotta do is just make sure we get this rub right… I run my route and (the defensive back) breaks out, and I turn around and see Calvin catching it low, and I’m like, ‘yes it’s a touchdown!'"
“That was just a big moment for (Calvin) and it was a big moment for all of us really because we all knew we had to step up.”
As the Tigers prepare to kick-off the 2022 campaign, Ivory aims to be a big part of the offensive threat this season.
With Austin leaving for the NFL, Ivory should be one of returning quarterback Henigan’s key targets.
Ivory says he and Henigan have been building on their relationship during the off season, and the addition of former Tiger quarterback Brady White to the coaching staff is helping them both improve.
“I expect a lot of great things from Seth and he's learning how to become more vocal now", he says. “He had a great summer, winter and spring…but if he dives in more with (White) I believe that will be a really useful tool for him this year.”
“I expect a lot of great things from Seth and he's learning how to become more vocal now", he says. “He had a great summer, winter and spring…but if he dives in more with (White) I believe that will be a really useful tool for him this year.”